Thriving in the Sunshine
We have been taught by recent society and education to fear the sun, but did you know that’s a very new way of thinking? For all of history, the sun and its benefits have been something that people valued, appreciated, and even worshiped! The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans & many more people groups used the sun as a tool to heal their bodies. The Greek men used to train for war naked to harness the sun's power in their bodies. In the early 1900’s, the sun was used to treat rickets, jaundice, and other issues, but now we hide from it? That doesn't quite make sense (and no, it’s not because we “know better now".
So what changed? A few things:
The industrial revolution brought people inside MANY more hours than ever before in history
Culture shifted to seeing dark skin as being “poor or less than” because laborers were outside in the sun getting tan, while those with more money could stay inside, keeping their skin lighter-toned
Seed oils (PUFA’s) started being added into food, which caused people to burn, therefore leading to the creation of sunscreen and the recommendation to stay out of the sun so you don’t burn
People began to believe the sun was dangerous when the truth is the opposite. Did you know “The further you are away from the equator (where the sun is strongest), skin cancer rates are HIGHER.” -Dr. Jack Kruse Study linked
Why is sunlight so beneficial?
Sunlight boosts magnetic flow, which leads to benefits for your ENTIRE body. Sunlight includes orange and red light, the benefits of which have been well established. This type of light supports cellular energy production and mitochondrial function. According to Dr. Ray Peat, getting plenty of sunlight is beneficial to your whole health. Especially the function of the endocrine system, meaning the hormone-producing glands, including the thyroid gland. Hormones are key to the communication and function of your entire body. Sunlight is potentially one of the most powerful but overlooked foundational pieces to our body’s ability to thrive.
Benefits of sunshine:
Healing tissue
Boosted milk supply
Healing “clogged ducts”
Circadian rhythm setting
Improved blood flow and oxygenation
Reduced inflammation
Enhanced cell regeneration
Pain relief
Improved sleep
Better energy levels
Stress reduction
Types of sunlight & why they matter:
There are 2 different types of sun rays:
Ultraviolet A (UVA) – gold, orange, and red morning light and evening purple and blue light. : higher in the morning and evening
Ultraviolet B (UVB) – bright white light: highest at midday and into the afternoon.
We need both of these types of sunlight. The sun is the timekeeper for the body and the key to life for the thyroid. Morning sun causes serotonin, cortisol, and dopamine to rise and do what they need to (manage your emotions and all body systerms). Midday sun triggers melatonin and vitamin D production (needed for sleep, immune, hormone and mental health) . Then as the sun sets, your other hormones level out, melatonin gets released, and you can sleep deeply in the dark. This rhythm is all perfectly designed for optimal thyroid health.
How much time are you spending with fake light on your skin? Lights at work or school, being on your phone, bright lights at night, reading books on a device? It all matters
The light from flickering, LED fluorescent light can actualy break down and worsen your eyesight so ditch your bright overhead lights in the evenings and switch to red or circadian rhythm-supporting low-light bulbs in lamps.
It’s a HUGE fad now to use red light. Don’t hear me wrong- it is incredible for you! But you don’t need an expensive device to sit in your dark house and shine a red light on you. GET OUTSIDE! (It’s free btw)
Why the morning sun is essential:
Getting outside in the morning sets your skin up to not burn during the later, more intense midday sun. As the UV index builds, the morning sun triggers a chemical response to build up melanin, create hydrating gel-like layers around your cells, and stimulate the energy needed to metabolize the protons your resving from midday sun. All naturally preventing burning!
Struggle to sleep? Melatonin is created in the body and bloodstream in the sunlight during the day. And then secreted at night. So if you’re lacking that good daytime sun, your body won’t have what it needs to rest well.
You need both light & dark:
Just as your body needs light during the day, it also needs true darkness at night to rest. Since God created light, there has also been dark- we need both! The contrast of these two parts of existence gives our bodies the knowledge it needs to rest, produce hormones, digest food, heal our cells, etc. This means getting good light during the day and then making sure you are sleeping in true darkness. Go cover ANY little light in your room, get blackout curtains, and shut your phone off 2hrs before bed so that you are sleeping in as dark-darkness as possible.
What about winter?
There are all sorts of red light, sunlight, vitamin D booster lights, etc being marketed now which may be helpful in some areas. But it’s not as if humans are ONLY designed to live in the south where there is great sun all year long! So what do you do?? Soak in LOTS of sun in summer. Then in winter you still prioritize getting in as much sunshine (on as much skin) as you can. Simply do your best, but don’t freak out over buying expensive lights to try to make a mock summer. Your body recognizes the season of winter, and it needs to go slower and rest in that darkness. Allow yourself the space to do that!
Make sure you are consuming sufficient protein and animal fats so that your body can produce vitamin D. Humans have a Vitamin D savings bank in our body. If we are protein deficient, we do not have this ability, and our stores are low in low light levels.. Humans start to store Vitamin D3 when the Vitamin 25(OH)D level is above 40 ng/ml.. This is why dietary composition is critical for immunity, the further one gets from the equator. This information also shows why flu season peaks in winter months in epidemiological studies. It also helps explain why those who are chronically ill or have serious diseases like cancer have very weakened immune systems. Before, we never looked for it, but now we are beginning to understand just how vital Vitamin D is for immunity and health.
“But I don’t want to burn!”
There are 2 main reasons people burn:
Extended exposure (going out for MUCH longer than your skin is used to). If you have been avoiding the sun for your entire life, you need to start slow. Go outside in the morning, midday, and evening for 5-10 more minutes each time. Did you know that the most common place for skin cancer, moles, etc to show up is shaded skin? The palest areas that rarely see the sun.
The consumption of PUFAs. According to Dr. Ray Pete, the definition of a sunburn is the cellular damage of unsaturated oils because when there is a buildup of PUFAs, they get stored in the tissue. Versus saturated fats (butter, lard, tallow), which are protective to the cells.
Other things that affect your skin’s likelihood to burn: EMFs, blue light, low mineral levels, toxin-filled sunscreen, chemicals, and processed foods.
In the late 1800’s, people started producing cottonseed oil as a byproduct of processing cotton. They realized they could fatten animals faster and cheaper by adding this unsaturated oil to the animal’s diet. This triggered the processing of vegetable oil, which was then cheaper to produce than the safe oils we had been consuming for the previous entirety of history: lard, butter, and tallow. Therefore, people began to consume large quantities of these unstable fats. But as it turns out, those oils (otherwise known as polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFA’s) are unstable at body temperature and turn toxic- not toxic enough to kill you fast, but they slowly break down your body in compoundingly detrimental ways. Read more about PUFAs here.
So now it’s the 1930’s / 40’s: people are eating PUFA’s, spending little time in the sun, and when they are in the sun, they’re burning! Enter the need for sunscreen.
Why you should avoid sunscreen:
In the dermatology literature, recent studies point out that melanoma is now more common in people who use sunscreens! Most sunscreens contain PUFAs, Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Retinyl Palmitate, Homosalate, Fragrance, Parabens, and other ingredients that cause toxin build-up in your body, disrupt your hormones (which we learned above is crucial for sun skin health), and are known to cause CANCER!
Did you know “the further you are away from the equator, where the sun is strongest, skin cancer rates are HIGHER.” -Dr. Jack Kruse Study linked
If you are going to be out in the sun HOURS longer then normal this is the sunscreen I would use.
If you feel like you got a bit too much sun: Mix a blend of raw honey, tallow balm, plantain, and vitamin E oil together. Apply a few times and watch the skin turn from red/pink to brown.
Why Vitamin D matters:
Vitimian D acts more like a hormone in your body than a vitimian. It is something your body synthesizes (makes) by combining cholesterol, vitamin A (retinol from animal fats), and sunlight. This is why animal fats and sun exposure are so crucial- they work hand in hand.
In 2007, Richards found that optimal vitamin D levels reduce our cellular aging risk, reduce utilization of our stem cells, and decrease the leakiness of our mitochondria. All cellular systems seem to point to disease and increased aging with lower vitamin D levels.
Ideally, your vitamin D levels should be around 50 ng. If your vitamin D levels are low, you need to take cod liver oil, eat more animal fats, get in the sunshine more, boost your mineral intake, and potentially supplement vitimian D. Links here.
These are just some of the diseases associated with low vitamin D levels (below 30 ng/ml on a Vitamin D 25 (OH) test.
Rickets, osteomalacia, and psoriasis
Hypocalcemia
Seizures, muscle tetanus, and heart failure in the newborn
Cancer of all types
Heart disease (the #1 killer of men and women)
High blood pressure
Obesity from all causes
Osteo and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Mental illness of all types
Anemia
Chronic pain centrally or peripherally mediated
Muscular weakness
Multiple sclerosis and most autoimmune diseases
Healing takes time.
When you start to detox excess hormones and PUFA’s from your body, it can take 2- 3 years before you start to see that huge shift. But it can happen! I’m talking about a woman as Irosh as it gets (red hair, fair skin, freckles, etc) being outside in the sun all day long and not burning!
You can take Vitamin E oil (for the first few months of ditching PUFAs to help your body detox the oils and replenish the vitamin levels depleted by the high PUFA levels in your body.
You need to get the sun in your bare eyes. Oftentimes you don’t see a shift in your body until you get your BARE eyes in the sun. No window contacts, glasses, or sunglasses between your eyes and the sunshine.
So what do you do with all this info?
Create rhythms that naturally make you get outside for AS MANY HOURS as you can a day! Morning tea on the deck, morning/evening walks, a garden to tend, workout outside, animals to care for, kids’ toys only outside, use an outhouse, eat meals outside, start a garden, set up a mud kitchen for your kids, go on walks with friends instead of coffee shop meetups, set up a comfy spot outside, etc.
Eat and cook with butter, lard, & tallow instead of seed oils
Eat more foods high in DHA: salmon, shrimp, crab, oysters, tuna, sardines, etc
Start slow; each day get more of your skin outside for longer periods of time. You can naked sunbathe too!
If you’re going to be outside for much longer than what your skin is used to, wear a hat or sun shirt
Ditch your bright overhead, LED “strobe lights” and switch to red or circadian rhythm supporting light bulbs in lamps.
Take cod liver oil
Eat a raw carrot salad to help process that sun exposure and detox excess hormones and PUFA’s
Eat fruits that are grown in the long hot sun (oranges especially); they are known to protect the body against melanoma
What about pregnancy?
Sunshine is not going to burn or hurt your baby; in fact, it has incredible benefits for both of you! Your baby gets to soak in all the benefits that you get from the sun and will even help smooth your labor. Your body needs sunlight to trigger hormone production, and we all know a LOT is happening with your hormones in pregnancy. Getting your body regulated and your cells healing is undeniably good!
The sunlight setting your circadian rhythm will also imprint baby’s circadian rhythm, meaning that transition of baby trying to learn day and night will be MUCH SMOOTHER.
Moms who struggle with breastfeeding (supply, clogged ducts, mastitis, regulation, etc) have also seen a massive healing shift when they expose their bare breasts to the sun!
For more info on Holistic Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum, check out my guide linked here :)
To learn more:
Listen to these three podcast episodes about light; they are incredible! How Light Shapes Us, Sunlight In Context & Breast Health, and Naked Sun
Why the sun is healing article
Sunshine & hormone health podcast
Sunlight, Mitochondria & Decentralized Science podcast
Using Sunlight to Sustain Life article
Dr. Ray Pete is an incredible resource; his website